Cityscape Paintings

With the evolution of civilizations, architecture too started becoming more and more ambitious, and has come a long way to create the magnificent skylines of urban cities of today. Cityscape paintings have journeyed through history, from the ancient world to the beginning of the 21st century. Artists are inspired by the fascinating geometry of buildings which make for great subjects. Cityscape painting today, holds its own place in the art arena as an artistic portrayal of urban landscapes and skylines.

History of Cityscape Paintings

Art historians believe that from the 16th to 18th century many copperplate prints, showed a form of cityscape art and depicted an aerial view of a city, mostly to provide a map-like overview. One of the oldest cityscape art dates back to the first century A.D. discovered at the Baths of Trajan in Rome showing a bird's eye view of an ancient city. The Dutch were the first to recognize Cityscape as a genre, sometime in the 17th century, with the Europeans following suit. Cityscape paintings flourished in Venice, in the 18th century, and went on to become popular through the 19th century. The onset of the 20th century, saw the rise of abstract and conceptual art, due to which the popularity of cityscape art, decreased. It however, was revived in the beginning of the 21st century by living Cityscape artists such as Rackstraw Downes, Antonio López García, Richard Estes, Yvonne Jacquette and Stephen Wiltshire.

Realism and Abstraction in Cityscape Paintings

Since art is a fluid form of expression, an artist cannot limit himself in its portrayal. Some artists show in their works exactly what the eyes see. An artist who prefers to be realistic in his approach of creating a cityscape painting, does not miss any detail of the view he considers. Every design and sometimes even hues, are accurately portrayed. An artist who opts for creating an abstract cityscape painting, explores shapes or express his feelings towards the place on canvas. In this style, the painting is the artist’s rendition of a scene and aims to evoke an emotion or create a mood through the forms, patterns and colours used. In either way, the results can be extremely engaging.

Cityscape Paintings as Wall Art

Many netizens today search for cityscape paintings and prints online, to include in their homes as wall art. Cityscape paintings, have much character of their own and also capture a bit of the vibe of the city they portray. Often, people include cityscape art of a place, in their home décor, in order to relive the experience of going to that particular city. As a wall art it also reflects an ambition to travel. A gallery wall, with cityscape paintings and prints, is also a great home décor idea, especially living away from their native city. Surely, cityscape paintings are a genre with a beauty and panache of its own.